1. Field
The present application relates to the field of electronics, and more particularly, to structures for electronic devices and related methods.
2. Description of the Related Art
In a traditional switch, a printed circuit board (PCB) backplane has connectors that interface with blades of the switch. The PCB backplane includes a dielectric core and electrically conductive traces supported by the dielectric core. Signals between blades and generally between components of the switch are propagated along the conductive traces.
However, as more functionality and components are combined to form larger switches, the required distance of the traces of the PCB backplane to interconnect the various components correspondingly increases. Further, as switches process more information and at higher speeds, the signals propagated along the conductive traces must travel at faster rates and with lower losses. Thus, PCB backplanes are placing fundamental restrictions on the size and speed at which switches can operate.